Perrotta Wins Women's Public-links Championship Title By One Shot

Samantha Perrotta of Gambler Ridge weathered a four-hour rain delay and fired an even-par 38-33-71 to win the 10th NJSGA Women’s Public Links championship by one shot over Kasey Frazier of Blue Heron Pines (36-36-72) on Monday, July 1 at the 5,223-yard Paramus Golf Course.

Ellie Yum of Galloping Hill was third (38-37-75), followed by Christine Kim of Pinch Brook (40-36-76) and Crystal Lee of Darlington (40-37-77) in the field of 36 players. Yum won the overall low net title.

In the First Flight, Frazier won the gross title with Nancy Vasile of Paramus winning the net division (82-11-71). In the Second Flight, Marge Zietchick of the Women’s Golf Association of New Jersey taking the gross division (45-42-87) and Laura Fraser of Paramus taking the net division (88-17-71) on a match of cards.

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“I’ve been working hard on my putting,” said Perrotta, who carries an handicap index of +4.2. “I left three of four birdie putts just short out there because the greens were slow. During the rain delay, I just wanted to get back out there and play.

“I like to win, maybe something bigger someday. The LPGA Tour is the ultimate goal,” said Perrotta, a resident of Florence who is autistic. She also plays out of Deerwood Country Club, where she often golfs with Kurt Hettel, who carried her bag during the event.

Perrotta, who began her round on the 8th hole, lost her grip on her driver at the 18th, causing her ball to hit a tree and land in the rough. She managed to save par when she drained a 20-foot putt.

“It was a terrible drive. Making that putt was huge,” said Perrotta, whose round included two birdies and two bogeys. She later hit a bunker shot to six inches from 40 feet to save par on the par-4 second hole.

“She is very consistent with her irons and her driver,” said Hettel, who also serves as the New Jersey director of Golf Channel’s AM-Tour. “A golf pro we know said her swing reminds him of Steve Stricker. It’s very repeatable.”

Frazier, a junior-to-be on the Wheeling Jesuit University golf team in West Virginia, totaled four birdies, three bogeys and a double bogey on the par-3 15th hole.

“It was stupid. I missed the green and three-putted,” said Frazier, who won the NCAA Division 2 Eastern Regional at Joliet C.C. (Illinois) this spring. “We’re used to getting a lot of rain and sleet in West Virginia, but never this bad. After we restarted, I just took it shot by shot. It helped being grouped with some competitive, great players.”

The threesome included Lee and 2012 Public-Links champion Noelle Maertz of Hyatt Hills, a sophomore at Wagner College who shot 78.